nelots86

I didn't have any leaks, but I didn't play with any of the seals.

wooo hoo got it done! Okay so here is what I learned. To replace the crank pulley I had to remove the radiator in order to have plenty of space to work. Get your Z on ramps, pull the hand brake, chuck the rear wheels, put the car into your highest gear 4th or 5th. If you have a skid plate remove it. To me I had an easier time working form under the car. I also had my front bumper cover off ( I have a fiberglass body kit) , for visual purposes. Drain the radiator. There is a drain pug at the bottom. After it drains go ahead and disconnect the rubber tube and let that drain too. Remove the plastic Shroud around the radiator for the fan. remove all rubber tubing from the radiator and unbolt the radiator itself and pull it out. Then I took I unbolted the fan, 4 small bolts. You can avoid this if you like but that fan will get in your way constantly. Take a 27mm socket wrench with a cheater or pipe to extend it and loosen the bolt about half way. You will then use a pulley puller to pull it off. Get a 3 clawed one, the bolt type universal ones don't come with the tiny bolts needed for these cars. clamp it onto the front of the pulley, place a wrench onto the bolt to prevent it from moving. use another wrench to tighten the crank puller. As it comes off beware that there is a small metal piece that is used to line up the pulley. It will fall out and its a pain to put back in curved side up. Once the crank pulley is ready to reinstall push up that small metal pieace and cram it up with a small screw driver. Slide in the new pulley. Then tap in with a rubber malet. Tighten to 240 lbs of torque. and put it all back together. And yay no more grinding noise!!!

Currently the car is sitting dead, after a few months of fun driving. After tightening the alternator belt for being to loose, the crankshaft pulley or harmonic dampener came loose on the alternator part. So the other day i tried to find one at a salvage yard and didnt bring the right tools.... arrrgghh!!! and now i have the worst sunburn! ouch! But I did buy a new hood and nose cone to replace the old dented ones.

oh by the way the spoiler came off a long time ago, I'm planning on filling in the back and replacing this spoiler for a ducktail spoiler.

look at that valve cover, delicious gunk! I did my own valve adjustment, I was very frantic about it! tried doing it hot, then did it cold to double check. Timing seems alot better now. I also installed a new AFM.

look at that pretty smile! took of the bumper cover to play with it, and so far no sucess on repairing it.

Went into Walmart one night, came out to a surprise. Someone was nice enough to bump into my fiberglass MSA bumper cover. Cracked it right on the corner which I'm not sure I can repair, anyone care to give me a step by step on fixing fiberglass, on a curved part that wont go back to where it was?

over time I noticed the car runs extremely rich, and all my spark plugs are all black and sooty

Up until this point everything was grand! I was excited to pull it off the trailer that I hired to have it delivered from Alabama to San Antonio, TX. I bought the car dirt cheap, as they say its always to good to be true. First off the "New Brakes" had air in them, and one of the brake lines was leaking.... easy fix, first time doing a brake job and the brakes are firm as hell. Awsome!

Here we are sitting safely at home finaly

what a lovely spoiler....that was tilted up causing the rear hatch to try and open itself on the high way. lol

owner said there was only a little dent on the hood, from some one backing into him..... later I found out the left side is slightly buckled and pushed back a little, just barley noticable

the photos were a tad misleading...

when i purchased the car

I've decided to create my own progress report, hopefully to keep me going on my project, and well.... education of my car. Well I'm Devin of San Antonio, TX. To give a little background for myself, I come from a family that drives pickups until they fall apart. and the extent of their knowledge is how to change a tire and sometimes the oil. I've always been a do it yourself kinda person, like my own body work after an unfortunate accident with a rock, and epoxying a fiberglass hood back togther on a buddies mach 1. ( keep notes; its never a good idea to through your car into reverse while your still traveling forward) So basicly I've been looking for my own project car for a while, first I wanted a mustang around a 67-73, to exspensive, mazda rx4 to rare, vw bug to dorky, vw karman ghia little less dorky. THEN I came across a 280z that had the classic lines i was looking for, and not an overly complicated engine. Truthfully I've been a fan of theses cars for a while since I saw an old decaying 260z on my grandparents property, literally a skeleton. My new toy is a 1978 datsun 280z 2+2, The previous owner lost its hood vents. threw away the back seat but the paint is almost decent with some clear coat flaking away. And the worst of it he tried to rice it out, by putting solid black 17 inch rims on it and a giant black spoiler with the front bumper cover that i think is an msa?. The motor was recently rebuilt with a new 4 spd (wish it was a 5 speed) So if you see me around San Antonio in a freaky looking z, dont worry im changing it soon.

so am i right to assume that no one needed a puller? just a wrench?

I do know that a 240, 260, 280 crank pulleys should fit. I'm wondering whAt other crank pulleys are interchangable.

Okay, I know it's probably simple as hell. Just keep in mind I'm still learning and I need some advice before I attempt on my 280z. Hope I put this in the right thread :/ As the story goes I just finished putting in a new AFM sensor, car was running almost running smooth after first attempt at a valve job, tightened the alternator belt. But as I drove down the road a grinding noise started, the crank pulley part for the alternator seperated from the rest of the pulley. Aarrrggh! First off I know to remove the radiator, and the fan shroud. I'm stuck at removing the bolt. Is there a way to lock the motor up to remove the bolt? And the puller, the bolts from the univeral kit I picked up at autozone are to big, so any idea on the bolt sizes or puller set I should get? Any help would be great. Also I'm planning on getting areplacment from a salvage yard, bad idea? Any ideas for a cheap replacment since all I need is the alternator not the ac since it's dead anyways?

Oh yeah, something else that just poped into my head. I noticed in my parts catalog that there are 2 different seals for the fron window of the 2+2 and coupe version of the 280z. Are the windshields and glass different? I know that the back glass is bigger. All of my seals are shot and cracked, any recommendations for a cheap fix for the front and rear window seals for the 2+2 besides silicon?

just noticed the chrome molding is gone on the windshield is that because its a different window seal? or am i just blind and cant see the inserts? lol

well my 2+2 is just sitting outside my house for now. I had just replaced the airflow mass sensor. It was running good, not running as rich. Then a grinding noise, anyone know what to do when the crankshaft pulley for the alternator is lose, yet the ac pulley is still on tight?

O0ps yeah sorry, I do own a 280z 2+2. My basic issue is I'm trying to make the car a little bit more highway friendly by adding in a 5 speed. I just don't know what all I need to get, and prepare for the swap, since this is my first real project car. I'm still kinda stupefied on this stuff lol.

Okay I've searched up and down but no answer. So I currently have a 4speed in my 280z, and I would like to upgrade to a 5 speed. From my understanding the flywheel is different on the 2+2, is this correct? and whats different. What transmission would be recommended? I have heard that the none turbo 280zx transmission is one of the best. Do I need to get a 280zx flywheel to do the swap? Sorry for all the questions. Basicly just trying to understand what you can and cant do on the early 2+2

Trust me driving with out a muffler and straight pipes gets annoying real fast. Thats how my car came when I bought it. I couldnt idle outside my house without ticking off the neighbors at night. I heard people have put 40 series flowmasters in the car, making it a tight fit. I was kinda wondering about the 60 series. What about the kits that msa sells? I heard all 2+2 owners have to do is get an extender pipe of 12"